Shoals Symphony At UNA To Present 'Symphony Goes Country' May 7

Apr. 19, 2011

FLORENCE, Ala. – The Shoals Symphony at UNA will present its fourth and final performance of the 2010-11 concert season May 7 at 7 p.m. at the UNA Amphitheatre. The concert is free and open to the public. Parking for the event is available in the visitors parking lot off Irvine Avenue, behind the Guillot University Center and behind Wesleyan Hall. Parking areas are within easy walking distance of the Amphitheatre.

The outdoor-picnic setting will set the stage for the concert, entitled “Symphony Goes Country.” Symphony director Viljar Weimann and the concert orchestra will present Johnny Williams’ “The Cowboy” overture as well as “Hoedown” by Aaron Copeland.

The symphony will feature the bluegrass band Iron Horse as special guests of the concert. Iron Horse, known for its innate ability for cross-genre arrangements, was formed as a band in 2000 and has self-produced three albums of unreleased compositions as well as Iron Horse-composed originals. The band has also recorded 12 projects for Los Angeles-based CMH Records, including tributes to several rock and heavy metal groups, such as Metallica and Led Zeppelin. Iron Horse’s versatility enables it to perform bluegrass standards with little effort while maintaining the familiarity of metal and pop groups.

The Shoals Symphony at UNA is offering a box supper the evening of the concert. Each box supper is $12 and must be reserved in advance, no later than May 6 at noon, by calling the Kennedy-Douglass Center for the Arts at 256-760-6379. In case of rain, the concert will be held in Norton Auditorium.

In the past year, the Shoals Symphony at UNA has presented four public concerts and one school concert, provided master classes with professional musicians, given away more than $1,200 in prizes money to high school musicians in the regional Hoffmeister Competition for Young Adults, supported the Piano and String Camp at UNA, and provided scholarship funding for young, beginning students. These accomplishments by the symphony are through the generous support of friends and benefactors as well as the Alabama State Council on the Arts.